A typical saddle for use on a horse or mule is secured to the animal by means of a cinch which extends around the girth of the animal and is attached to each of the opposite sides of the saddle by means of a latigo leather or nylon strap (hereafter referred to as the "latigo"). The saddle includes a D-ring secured on each side to which one end of the latigo leather or nylon strap is attached and firmly secured. Normally the latigo is secured to the D-ring by extending one end through the ring and looping it back upon itself. Then a length of leather lacing is threaded through several registering openings in the latigo. The leather lacing is then tied to prevent it from being pulled loose.
The free end of the latigo is passed through a ring on one end of the cinch and is looped back through the D-ring. Depending upon where the D-rings are located on the saddle, and depending upon the conformation of the particular horse or mule, the cinch and latigo are often positioned too far forwardly when the saddle is positioned on the withers of the animal. For example, the withers on some animals are not well defined or are located farther forward than on other animals. As a result, when the cinch is tightened to secure the saddle to the animal, the cinch and the latigo are so far forward that they can rub on the back of the shoulder of the animal or pinch skin between the cinch and the shoulder.
To overcome this problem, there has previously been proposed the use of a double D-ring on each side of a saddle. The double D-ring includes two alternative and separate attachment points from the latigo, with one attachment point being located forwardly of the other point. That is, one end of the latigo can be passed through and secured firmly to the forward position or instead it may be passed through and secured to the rearward position. This arrangement allows for a person to affix one end of the latigo to either the forward position or to the rearward position, as required in order to best fit the saddle to a particular horse.
Although it is possible to change the attachment of the latigo from the forward position to the rearward position, or vice-versa, this is very cumbersome and time-consuming. It requires that the leather lacing securing the latigo to the D-ring be untied and then completely unlaced from the latigo. Then the latigo must be entirely detached from one position on the D-ring and changed to the other position on the D-ring, after which the leather lacing must again be threaded through the registering openings in the latigo. After the lacing has been properly threaded again, it must be tied or otherwise secured. Because this task is so cumbersome and time-consuming, a person normally does not change the latigo attachment position at all after the latigo has been originally secured to one of the two positions on the D-ring. The result is that the saddle is used only on the horse or mule for which it was originally intended, or the saddle does not properly fit other horses or mules on which it may be used.
There has not heretofore been provided a means for attaching a latigo to a saddle which enables the attachment position to be easily changed without unfastening and detaching the latigo from the saddle.